Arts

WEMU and the Ark have been cultural partners for many years and now we are teaming up to celebrate our 51st year together with a special grab bag exclusive to WEMU listeners for a pair of tickets* of your choosing to the one of the following shows at the Ark. For a gift of $200 to WEMU, you and your guest can join us at the Ark for:

Enjoy three outstanding jazz combos from the Eastern Michigan University Jazz Studies program. Director Mark Pappas will bring two quartets and a trio for WEMU's next free Sesi Motors 5:01 Jazz Show at Rush Street Nightclub

Local, live theater is one of the many benefits of living in Washtenaw County. One local theater production infuses old time music with a classic story designed to make theater goers laugh with their production of "The Philadelphia Story."

Novelist Günter Grass, the Nobel laureate who is perhaps best known for his novel The Tin Drum and who shocked his country when he revealed in 2006 that he had been a member of the Waffen SS in the last months of World War II, has died. Grass was 87.

The news was announced by his publisher, Steidl Verlag, in a statement on its website. The publisher said Grass died at a clinic in the town of Lübeck, Germany. It did not provide a cause of death.

Movie theatres have tried different ways over the years to combat declining ticket sales. In this encore broadcast, Topher Forhecz reports on the latest attempt to bring in audience by recreating the comforts of home.

TOPHER FORHECZ, BYLINE: When I decided to see a movie at an AMC Theatre in upper Manhattan, the first change I noticed was I had to reserve my seat when I bought my ticket beforehand. So I just walked in and there are about nine rows of leather seats and I am in D6, so I've got to go find it.

The documentary explores the rich history of the longest-running live performance radio show on public radio. Featuring interviews with the show's founders, band members and guest artists (including Tim O'Brien, Kathy Mattea, Jason Isbell, Billy Bragg, Bela Fleck and more), WV Public Broadcasting's Dave Mistich retraces the earliest steps of the show in 1983 all the way to the 30th anniversary in 2013. In addition, this hour-long special also attempts to identify the multifaceted identity of the program and explores its reach and meaning to listeners all across the world.

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival marks its 30th Anniversary this year. The annual celebration of music and entertainment is now in its final week for 2013. As this year's event winds down, we thought it a good time to look at the past, present and future of the festival. As WEMU's Wendy Wright discovered, the common thread has been, and will continue to be, a sense of community.